Metal-induced oxidative stress and human plasma protein oxidation after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Pathogenesis of COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a global pandemic and public health emergency in 2020. Viral infection can induce oxidative stress through reactive oxygen species (ROS). Inflammation and environmental stress are major sources of oxidative stress after infection.

Zinc dynamics regulate early ovarian follicle development.

Zinc fluctuations regulate key steps in late oocyte and preimplantation embryo development; however, roles for zinc in preceding stages in early ovarian follicle development, when cooperative interactions exist between the oocyte and somatic cells, are unknown. To understand the roles of zinc during early follicle development, we applied single cell X-ray fluorescence microscopy, a radioactive zinc tracer, and a labile zinc probe to measure zinc in individual mouse oocytes and associated somatic cells within early follicles. Here, we report a significant stage-specific increase and compartmental redistribution in oocyte zinc content upon the initiation of early follicle growth.

Targeting Zinc Finger Proteins with Exogenous Metals and Molecules: Lessons learned from Tristetraprolin, a CCCH type Zinc Finger.

ZF proteins are ubiquitous eukaryotic proteins that play important roles in gene regulation. ZFs contain small domains made up of a combination of four cysteine and histidine residues, and are classified based up on the identity of these residues and their spacing. One emerging class of ZFs are the CysHis (or CCCH) class of ZFs.

Role of Gold in Inflammation and Tristetraprolin Activity.

The zinc finger protein tristetraprolin (TTP) regulates inflammation by downregulating cytokine mRNAs. Misregulation results in arthritis, sepsis and cancer, and there is an interest in modulating TTP activity with exogenous agents. Gold has anti-inflammatory properties and has recently been shown to modulate the signaling pathway that produces TTP, suggesting that TTP may be a target of gold.

Novel Small Molecule Targeting the Hemagglutinin Stalk of Influenza Viruses.

Combating influenza is one of the perennial global public health issues to be managed. Antiviral drugs are useful for the treatment of influenza in the absence of an appropriate vaccine. However, the appearance of resistant strains necessitates a constant search for new drugs.

Direct Zinc Finger Protein Persulfidation by H S Is Facilitated by Zn.

H S is a gaseous signaling molecule that modifies cysteine residues in proteins to form persulfides (P-SSH). One family of proteins modified by H S are zinc finger (ZF) proteins, which contain multiple zinc-coordinating cysteine residues. Herein, we report the reactivity of H S with a ZF protein called tristetraprolin (TTP).

Analogues of Dehydroacetic Acid as Selective and Potent Agonists of an Ectopic Odorant Receptor through a Combination of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Interactions.

Identification of potent agonists of odorant receptors (ORs), a major class of G protein-coupled receptors, remains challenging due to complex receptor-ligand interactions. ORs are present in both olfactory and non-chemosensory tissues, indicating roles beyond odor detection that may include modulating physiological functions in non-olfactory tissues. Selective and potent agonists specific for particular ORs can be used to investigate physiological functions of ORs in non-chemosensory tissues.

Carborane-containing urea-based inhibitors of glutamate carboxypeptidase II: Synthesis and structural characterization.

Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) is a zinc metalloprotease on the surface of astrocytes which cleaves N-acetylaspartylglutamate to release N-acetylaspartate and glutamate. GCPII inhibitors can decrease glutamate concentration and play a protective role against apoptosis or degradation of brain neurons. Herein, we report the synthesis and structural analysis of novel carborane-based GCPII inhibitors.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 4-(alkyloxy)-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one derivatives as quorum sensing inhibitors.

Novel pyrone-derived quorum sensing (QS) ligands to inhibit the binding of OdDHL to the LasR of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were designed, synthesized and evaluated. Among the analogs, the most potent compound 8 exhibited strong in vitro inhibitory activities against biofilm formation and down-regulated OdDHL/LasR-associated genes by 35-67%. The binding mode of 8 in silico was highly similar to that of the crystal ligand OdDHL in the active site of LasR.